Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Great honor to be here. Thank you very much.
General. And ladies and gentlemen!
General, I know you have been to Ukraine, that you support our country and our people. And thank you for caring.
Distinguished guests of this Conference,
Dear journalists,
Thank you all for your attention to Ukraine and to security. And thank you so much for your support. Thank you so much. Thank you.
So security. Security – this is what will shape the coming years. And probably the coming decades. People don’t usually think of security as a resource. Not in countries where everyone simply takes it for granted. It’s like air. Nobody wakes up wondering if there will be enough air to breathe tomorrow. Air is simply there. And there is enough of it for everyone on Earth. But when security disappears, everything that makes a normal life possible disappears with it. How many minutes can anyone survive without air? We all know the answer. It means certain death. For most people, losing security means the same thing. Death.
We have all seen what life without security looks like. We know it. Only thugs, terrorists, or warlords seem comfortable in such conditions – until they get killed themselves.
Security is a basic resource. Like air or water. Like food or energy. You barely notice it when everything is fine. But when it’s gone, nothing is more valuable.
Today, November Third, the world will be watching one country – America.
Elections are taking place there today, and they will shape the future. The future of the United States Congress. The future of American policy. And the future of those who are used to the United States always being somewhere nearby.
People still have this strong memory of an America they could count on with confidence, without even having to think about it. Almost like air.
And many still remember the United States that they never had to fear would suddenly disappear from the security map. A map where dozens of countries, at different times, searched for their place – and found it. They were searching because they lacked this very resource – security. And they knew that America was not just a source of freedom.
America also stood for certain rules in the world – rules that gave people and nations something real to count on. A certain way of life – where freedom truly mattered. And certain relationships between countries – backed by real security guarantees. America brought predictability. And a dream:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse
of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
It’s a beautiful dream. And its horizon – is the human desire for freedom. Its heart – is the ability to guarantee security – for yourself, for your family, for your life. And this is what brought people together around America. But…
But we’ve already seen the days after which the world felt that this picture might no longer exist.
So in America, elections always come in November. Then there’s a little time until January for everyone to calm down somehow and get used to the changes. And of course, sometimes people never really get used to them.
Right now, things are deeply uncertain. Many hopes may once again end in disappointment. Not because America will become weaker or less interested in the world around it. But…
Many in America believe it will always stay that way, and that the world can somehow manage without American involvement and without American support for those who simply want the same kind of change in their own countries that free nations have already achieved. The new generation in America talks, cares, and thinks about different things – not the things that mattered to those who began their journey back in the 20th century.
So what does this mean for everyone else in the world? We all know the answer. Even if many don’t want to say it out loud. Maybe America will not leave its existing alliances. Maybe it will still be somewhere within reach.
Maybe it will speak of our shared past – in Athens, with the Parthenon behind it, or somewhere here in Berlin, in places where freedom won a decisive battle for Europe. But it may still be an America that is much more focused on itself. An America that thinks much less about the fact that without it, others might lose their security.
Let me remind you of one statement: “America as the guarantor to the world for the last 80 years – it is no longer there”. These are the words of a serving U.S. ambassador. A very influential, by the way, person. And it wasn’t some shocking news, no. Just another fact about the world as it has become.
Those words were spoken in the Gulf. And that makes them especially telling. Few places believed more strongly in that America – the America that guarantees security. And now, all they are thinking about is how to prevent another outbreak of full-scale war.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We in Europe need to hear this too. And not just because Europe’s own security is so closely tied to America. It’s about more than that.
Ukraine is grateful to the United States. And for us, this gratitude is not something abstract. It is not about some security promise made long ago – a promise we hope will still be kept. It’s about help, yes, that protects lives here and now – in this brutal and insane war that Russia is waging against us.
Without America, thousands and thousands more Ukrainians would have been killed by Russian strikes. And millions more would have become refugees. That’s why we always thank America. And we mean it. Even when we say thank you many times in one speech. Just to make sure those who sometimes feel we haven’t thanked them enough can hear us.
But we also know that without Europe, Ukraine would not have survived. Without Germany and other European countries, without the EU. The Russians would have burned down far more of our cities and villages if it were not for your help.
And we value this deeply. Thank you.
And I know it’s true, it’s true. And we are grateful. And it is precisely because we understand how much we owe you, and how important your countries are in giving our people more, more life, more security, that we ask, quite symbolically, on this very day, November 3 – what will happen after the election days that Europe is now moving toward.
And we’ve already seen how, after November elections in America, there can be less America.
But what if Germany disappears from the security map of Europe and the world? What if France does? What would be left of Europe’s security architecture then?
These questions are not just about us in Ukraine. And not just about countries like Lithuania, this year’s Partner Nation of the Conference.
For the first time in its history, Europe entered such a long period of peace after World War 2 – when European nations truly began to unite. To unite on the basis of equality, partnership, and working together to guarantee security. Yes, there were times when one country or another reduced its role in our shared security architecture. But America was still there. And there was still confidence that Germany would not turn a blind eye to unjust wars. And people believed that France would still care. That Britain could be counted on. That Italy would choose the right side. And that the Nordic countries would make the right choice.
In the security architecture built in our part of the world – the one Ukraine wants to join – we have never seen several key players disappear at the same time.
Are we sure this won’t happen in the future? Some people see this as just a question of choosing one political color or another. A choice you can always change later. Some believe everything will somehow work out fine without them taking part.
But it is worth looking at how sometimes something similar happened not far from us – in Russia.
Twenty-six years ago, Russia still had elections. And when those elections brought to power the party that still rules Russia, and the man who still rules Russia, almost nobody imagined it would end in the complete loss of security. Not just for Russia’s neighbors. But for the Russians themselves. The result of that wrong choice was not just this dictator and his absolutely crazy wars. The result was that no life in Russia matters anymore except one – Putin’s. He is the only one who truly lives there. Everyone else’s life is uncertain.
And the result of one mistake twenty-six years ago is that Russia now destroys security on a global scale. It takes this resource away from every nation it can reach. And Russia doesn’t act only through obvious brute force. Its methods are absolutely different – from drones at Leipzig Airport to armies of bots pushing all kinds of extreme ideas on social media. Why do they do this? Because the stronger the extreme ideas, the more conflicts there are, the less room is left in the middle. less room for dialogue. Less room for working together, including working together for security.
Russia takes away your space. First, the space for democracy and normal dialogue and cooperation. Then, the space for social and economic stability. And then, the space of your own country – your sovereignty, your territory, your national identity. And Ukraine’s experience over these 26 years of Putin’s rule is a warning to anyone here in Europe – anyone close to Russia, or not so close, whom Putin might consider part of his sphere of influence.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When you stand alone, you become a victim. Either of someone else’s savage ambitions, or of your own misguided ambitions. We live in a world where we need to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, in alliances, more than ever. This is a world that will change very fast because of AI.
A world where people will compete for jobs not with each other in their own country, or with migrants, but with automation on a scale we’ve never seen before.
And a world where drones will easily and cheaply fly thousands of kilometers. It will be a world where the arms race returns into orbit, with a constant threat to satellites.
Which nation will be able to stand alone in such a world? Which? And can any European nation face the challenges of this new world on its own outside a united Europe? If anyone still has that illusion, the sooner they let it go, the better.
Europe cannot afford to have Germany turn away from security – from our shared security here on this continent. If Germany doesn’t care about our common security, Europe will be weak.
No country in Europe can protect its skies alone against the number of ballistic missiles that Russia, or any other enemy of the West, could launch. No one. No country can build an effective defense against drones alone.
Ukraine is doing everything it can to reopen the sea that Russia is trying to turn into a wasteland. We are doing everything we can to restore routes for exporting food and other essential goods and resources. But we cannot do this alone. We need help from others – from partners, from friends.
No country can rely only on its own energy system. You need connections, cooperation, solidarity with other countries if, for whatever reason, you face a blackout.
To have security, you need partners, you need allies who guarantee it together, of course together with you. And when it comes to new technologies like Starlink and similar systems. Different countries are now building their own versions of Starlink. And Germany is building its own system too. That is the right thing to do. Because the key question is who controls the on and off buttons.
But what do we do about those who are building the ability to destroy such systems? Nobody can handle that alone. Security really is a shared European interest.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We see that Russia has already made up its mind. It has decided that a peaceful and united Europe is its enemy. And this is not something that will simply go away in a year. Look at the military infrastructure Russia has been building in recent years. Is all of that just for Ukraine? It’s too much to be just for one country, for Ukraine. It’s aimed at you.
China has also chosen its own global path. It’s good that Britain and Norway are active on all major security issues. It’s good that our relations with Canada are growing. Really.
It’s good that there are others around the world who now look to Europe as a source of security – still more of a potential one in many ways, but with the potential to become very strong. It’s good that there is still a chance America will remain part of the security alliance that is so important for Europe.
And for us in Ukraine, things are extremely, extremely difficult now. But Ukraine will never surrender.
Ukraine will always be strong. And Ukraine will always be European. But what will happen here?
Please, keep Germany a country that people can still believe in. Of course, every nation has many problems of its own. And right now, in many parts of Europe, tension on the streets, in the parliaments, and among people shows how uncertain they feel about the future. But there are nations without which global problems simply cannot be solved in the right way. Germany is one of them.
You know how to build security. We have seen it ourselves – through our own experience and through Europe’s experience over the past decades. Far too much depends on what Germany believes in, and whom Germany believes in.
The United States’ role in the world may become even smaller. So Europe’s role in the world must become even greater. And without Germany, this is impossible. Impossible. Without you, freedom will surely lose. Freedom and security in Europe have no alternative to your commitment and your strength. Europe has no alternative to Germany. Please remember that. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! And thank you for respecting Ukraine, our people, our heroic soldiers, supporting all of us and our children, our families. Thank you so much!
Glory to Ukraine!
